Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
19-5011 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.
National estimates for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Industry profile for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Geographic profile for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
National estimates for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 106,340 |
2.3 % |
$ 37.86 |
$ 78,740 |
1.1 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 21.17 |
$ 28.60 |
$ 37.29 |
$ 47.43 |
$ 56.98 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 44,040 |
$ 59,490 |
$ 77,560 |
$ 98,650 |
$ 118,510 |
Industry profile for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
10,210 |
0.66 |
$ 31.60 |
$ 65,720 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
7,770 |
0.14 |
$ 35.32 |
$ 73,470 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
7,220 |
0.34 |
$ 42.91 |
$ 89,260 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
6,520 |
0.30 |
$ 32.16 |
$ 66,880 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
4,540 |
0.18 |
$ 44.50 |
$ 92,560 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
Top paying industries for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
Geographic profile for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
16,070 |
1.31 |
1.74 |
$ 36.78 |
$ 76,510 |
| California |
12,850 |
0.78 |
1.03 |
$ 38.18 |
$ 79,410 |
| Ohio |
5,300 |
1.02 |
1.35 |
$ 38.01 |
$ 79,060 |
| Pennsylvania |
4,300 |
0.77 |
1.02 |
$ 36.22 |
$ 75,330 |
| New York |
4,180 |
0.48 |
0.64 |
$ 40.54 |
$ 84,330 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Wyoming |
480 |
1.82 |
2.42 |
$ 39.57 |
$ 82,300 |
| North Dakota |
570 |
1.43 |
1.90 |
$ 40.41 |
$ 84,040 |
| New Mexico |
1,050 |
1.36 |
1.80 |
$ 39.64 |
$ 82,460 |
| Hawaii |
720 |
1.32 |
1.74 |
$ 35.88 |
$ 74,620 |
| Texas |
16,070 |
1.31 |
1.74 |
$ 36.78 |
$ 76,510 |
Top paying states for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
310 |
0.47 |
0.62 |
$ 45.32 |
$ 94,260 |
| Washington |
2,820 |
0.88 |
1.17 |
$ 45.08 |
$ 93,770 |
| Rhode Island |
170 |
0.37 |
0.49 |
$ 44.26 |
$ 92,060 |
| Colorado |
2,820 |
1.07 |
1.42 |
$ 44.21 |
$ 91,950 |
| Alaska |
340 |
1.13 |
1.50 |
$ 43.95 |
$ 91,420 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
6,060 |
1.06 |
1.40 |
$ 30.86 |
$ 64,190 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
5,160 |
1.78 |
2.36 |
$ 39.25 |
$ 81,640 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
3,800 |
0.44 |
0.58 |
$ 43.20 |
$ 89,850 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,670 |
1.02 |
1.36 |
$ 36.59 |
$ 76,100 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,010 |
0.76 |
1.01 |
$ 40.41 |
$ 84,060 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,670 |
1.14 |
1.51 |
$ 46.42 |
$ 96,560 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
1,610 |
0.76 |
1.01 |
$ 36.27 |
$ 75,450 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,600 |
0.62 |
0.82 |
$ 44.84 |
$ 93,270 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,560 |
0.81 |
1.08 |
$ 46.52 |
$ 96,760 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,550 |
0.53 |
0.70 |
$ 43.40 |
$ 90,270 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Midland, TX |
440 |
4.63 |
6.13 |
$ 41.20 |
$ 85,690 |
| Trenton, NJ |
610 |
2.68 |
3.55 |
$ 44.77 |
$ 93,120 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX |
380 |
2.59 |
3.43 |
$ 36.39 |
$ 75,700 |
| Odessa, TX |
160 |
2.46 |
3.25 |
$ 35.94 |
$ 74,750 |
| Casper, WY |
80 |
2.28 |
3.02 |
$ 40.12 |
$ 83,440 |
| Corpus Christi, TX |
390 |
2.24 |
2.97 |
$ 34.34 |
$ 71,420 |
| Midland, MI |
70 |
1.95 |
2.59 |
$ 39.82 |
$ 82,820 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
230 |
1.95 |
2.58 |
$ 53.82 |
$ 111,950 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale, WA |
170 |
1.94 |
2.57 |
$ 43.44 |
$ 90,340 |
| Lake Charles, LA |
170 |
1.84 |
2.44 |
$ 41.18 |
$ 85,650 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
230 |
1.95 |
2.58 |
$ 53.82 |
$ 111,950 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
470 |
0.44 |
0.59 |
$ 52.04 |
$ 108,240 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,460 |
0.65 |
0.86 |
$ 51.93 |
$ 108,020 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
130 |
1.04 |
1.38 |
$ 47.69 |
$ 99,200 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,560 |
0.81 |
1.08 |
$ 46.52 |
$ 96,760 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,670 |
1.14 |
1.51 |
$ 46.42 |
$ 96,560 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
110 |
0.57 |
0.76 |
$ 45.82 |
$ 95,300 |
| Anchorage, AK |
160 |
0.98 |
1.29 |
$ 45.30 |
$ 94,220 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
80 |
0.42 |
0.55 |
$ 44.89 |
$ 93,380 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,600 |
0.62 |
0.82 |
$ 44.84 |
$ 93,270 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
